The World's Richest People Added $37 Billion in Wealth After Today's Markets Surge

Story by Bloomberg

The world’s wealthiest people became $37 billion richer Monday morning as stock markets rallied on mounting speculation that Hillary Clinton will be elected U.S. president over billionaire rival Donald Trump.

Their combined net worth on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index rose 0.9 percent from Friday’s close to $4.4 trillion as of 12:24 p.m. in New York.

Global stocks and commodities rallied as investors wagered the FBI’s latest determination that Clinton’s handling of e-mails wasn’t a crime has boosted her chances of becoming
the 45th president. U.S. billionaires prefer a Clinton presidency, as measured by their donations to the two candidates, with 17 of the country’s richest people contributing to the Democratic nominee, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

"The market’s perception is that a Clinton presidency will be similar to the last eight years in terms of regulatory action and the amount of change in the economy will be less than under a Trump presidency," said Robert Lutts, chief investment officer of Cabot Wealth Management Inc. in Salem, Massachusetts.

U.S. billionaires account for one-third of the Bloomberg wealth ranking and had the biggest gains among the group, adding $22 billion. Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, ranked No. 3 in the world on Friday with $65.7 billion, led the surge with a $2.7 billion rise. Warren Buffett, the fourth-richest person in the world with $64.4 billion, added $1.5 billion.

Mexico’s richest person also had a billion-dollar morning. Telecom magnate Carlos Slim added $2.2 billion as the Mexican peso rallied with expectation of a defeat for Trump. The New York real estate magnate used the word "rapists" when discussing immigrants from Mexico and has vowed to renegotiate relations with the country’s third-largest U.S. trading partner.

Gains were broad-based across sectors and industries, with 140 billionaires seeing gains of $100 million or more this morning. Bill Gates is the world’s richest person with a net worth of $84.9 billion and added $700 million on Monday.